Yoma 47a (מז.) — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

After the High Priest had raked the coals into the firepan and placed it full of coals on the fourth row of paving stones in the Temple courtyard [as explained in the Mishna above, on 43b]:

They brought him the ladle,

empty, from the Chamber of Utensils, in order to place the incense in it. With it he would transport the incense to the Holy of Holies, as the Gemara proceeds to explain.

And

they likewise brought him from the Chamber of the House of Avtinas [Meiri

], the firepan

in which the incense had been placed.

He took a handful —

the High Priest —

the full measure of his handfuls

from the firepan,

and placed it in the ladle.

The larger,

a priest whose body was large, would take a handful

according to his size,

in large handfuls, even as large as the handfuls of ben Kamtzit, whose hand could hold approximately four kav —

and the smaller

would take a handful

according to his small size.

Even as with ben Gamla, whose hand could hold only the equivalent of two olives [Melekhet Shlomo, from the Jerusalem Talmud].

And this was its measure,

the Gemara explains this statement [Rashi. See note

]. After the priest had taken the handful,

he took the firepan —

the one containing the coals [mentioned in the Mishna above, on 43b] —

in

his

right hand, and the ladle —

containing the incense —

in his left,

in order to place the incense upon the firepan in the Holy of Holies.

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: “They brought him the ladle and the firepan.” The initial assumption is that they now brought him a firepan from the Chamber of Utensils, in order to place the coals in it. Therefore, the Gemara asks:

They brought

a firepan?!

Did they now bring him a firepan for the coals?!

But it was already taught at the beginning

was it not already written at the beginning, in the preceding Mishna? For we learned there]:

“He took the firepan and ascended to the top of the altar, raked the coals, and descended”?!

The Gemara answers:

There,

in the preceding Mishna, it is referring to

the firepan for coals.

But

in our Mishna it is referring

here

to

the firepan for incense,

from which he would take the handful.

As

it was taught in a beraita: “They brought him the ladle empty from the Chamber of Utensils, and a heaping firepan of incense”

they brought him

from the Chamber of the House of Avtinas,

the place where the incense was ground and its ingredients mixed.

We learned in the Mishna:

“He took the full measure of his handfuls and placed it in the ladle; the larger according to his size, and the smaller according to his size.”

“And this was its measure.”

The Gemara asks:

The ladle on Yom Kippur —

why do I need it?!

For it is written: “And he shall take a coal-filled firepan of fiery coals from upon the altar, from before the Lord, and

the full measure of his handfuls

of finely ground aromatic incense,

and he shall bring it

inside the curtain,”

the Merciful One said.

This implies that he should bring the incense before the Lord in his handfuls, without a vessel!

If so, why do I need a ladle?! [See note

] The Gemara answers:

Because it is impossible

to bring the incense from beyond the curtain in his handfuls.

For

how should he act?

How could he bring the incense in his handfuls and the coals in the firepan into the Holy of Holies?

If

he were to bring in [bring in] the firepan of coals first,

how should he act?!

and then bring in

the incense in the full measure of his handfuls,

this cannot be done. For —

the Merciful One said that there must be one bringing

for the coals and the incense, as it is written: “And he shall take the coal-filled firepan of fiery coals, and the full measure of his handfuls of finely ground incense, and he shall bring it inside the curtain.”

And not two bringings.

And if

he were to take

the High Priest

the incense in his handfuls and put it down,

and another priest were to place

the firepan

with the coals

upon it,

on top of the incense held by the High Priest,

and enter,

and thus the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies.

This too is impossible.

For

when he reaches there —

how should he act?!

When he reaches the Holy of Holies, what should he do? How could he lower the firepan resting on the incense while both his hands were full?

Perhaps you will say:

He should take it with his teeth and lower the firepan;

he should take the firepan with his teeth and lower it. This too is impossible, because —

now, before a flesh-and-blood king, one does not do this,

out of respect.

Before the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He —

all the more so

that this must not be done!

Therefore, it is impossible

to bring the incense in the full measure of his handfuls together with the firepan into the Holy of Holies.

And since it is impossible, we act as we find

as we find

with

the offerings of

the princes

at the dedication of the altar, as it is written: “One golden ladle, full of incense.”

We learned in the Mishna:

“He took the firepan

with the coals

in his right hand, and the ladle

with the incense

in his left hand”:

The Gemara asks: The incense is more important than the coals, so how could the priest take the coals in his important right hand and the incense in his left? This is like

the citizen

[the important native] standing

on the ground,

[on the earth],

while

the

convert

[the one inferior to him] stands

in the heavens

[in the heights of the sky]?!

The Gemara answers:

This one —

the firepan with the coals — is

greater

and heavier, since it contains three kav of coals,

whereas this one —

the ladle with the incense — is

smaller

and lighter, since it contains only the full measure of two handfuls of incense. Therefore, he takes the heavier one in his right hand and the lighter one in his left.

Even when the two were equal, and the ladle likewise contained three kav of incense [Rashi

],

as in the incident involving Rabbi Yishmael ben Kamhit,

the High Priest, who took a large amount of incense in his handfuls [as the Gemara proceeds to explain; see note

]: Even so, since with most High Priests the coals were greater than the incense, all of them therefore took the firepan in the right hand and the ladle in the left.

] —

Even so, since with most High Priests the coals exceeded the incense, they all took the firepan in the right hand and the ladle in the left. This one is hot and this one is cold

[The Bach deleted this according to Rashi; see note

]. They said concerning Rabbi Yishmael ben the woman named

the woman whose name was

Kamhit,

who was a High Priest,

that he took four kav of incense in the full measure of his handfuls,

because he was large in stature and his handfuls were large.

And he would boast

and say: “All the women

who gave birth—each of them

was a branch”

[the Gemara explains this expression below].

But

if the

branch

of

Mother

—meaning, I—

rose to the roof,

I surpassed them all.

The Gemara explains his statement, “All the women were branches, and Mother’s branch rose to the roof”:

Some say: with their porridge,

a food made of wheat called porridge [Ritva; see note

And in accordance with the statement of Rabba bar Yonatan, as Rabba bar Yonatan said in the name of Rabbi Yehiel:

],

which women ate while pregnant in order to strengthen themselves and their fetuses; Rabbi Yishmael was saying that the porridge his mother ate benefited her more than it benefited the other women. And in accordance with the statement of Rabba bar Yonatan, as Rabba bar Yonatan said in the name of Rabbi Yeḥiel: Arsan is beneficial for a sick person,

and ordinary women who were pregnant were considered ill, and they would eat it in order to strengthen themselves and their fetuses [Rashi; and the Ritva explained: it is beneficial for a sick person, and likewise for pregnant women, as it whitens them and whitens the fetus].

And some say: It refers to semen,

as the fetus is not formed from the entire drop, but from its clarified portion; and concerning this he said that the clarified portion of the drop that my mother received grew and rose to the roof.

And Rabbi Yishmael called it zerad, after “bundles of branches,” referring to the clarified and “collected” portion of the drop of semen [Ritva].

And

this statement, that a person is not formed from the entire drop but from its clarified portion, is

in accordance with Rabbi Abbahu:

Rabbi Abbahu posed a contradiction [

he was presenting verses that contradicted one another]:

It is written

in one place:

“And You girded me”” — [

without an alef, an expression referring to sifting through a sieve called a “winnower”] —

with strength

for battle.

And it is written

elsewhere:

“And You girded me” — [

with an alef, an expression referring to girding strength around the loins] —

with strength for battle.

Rather, this is what

David said before the Holy One, blessed be He:

Initially,

You sifted me,

You clarified me from the drop, like a person who sifts grain in the threshing floor, taking the edible portion and leaving the refuse.

And

afterward,

You invigorated me,

You girded my strength around my loins [as explained on the basis of Niddah 31a and Rashi there].

They said concerning Rabbi Yishmael ben Kamhit:

Once,

on Yom Kippur [Rashi ],

he was conversing with an Arab in the marketplace, and a spray of saliva flew

of saliva

from the mouth

of the Arab

onto the garments

of Rabbi Yishmael, rendering Rabbi Yishmael impure. For the Sages deemed gentiles equivalent to zavim in all matters, and their saliva renders impure like that of a zav [Meiri], and Rabbi Yishmael contracted impurity lasting until evening, since the saliva of a zav renders impure through carrying [see note ].

And his brother Yishvav entered and served in his place

as High Priest.

And Kamhit

saw

the fortune

of the brothers,

two High Priests

among her sons

on a single day.

And they said about Rabbi Yishmael ben Kamhit once again: Once

on Yom Kippur,

he went out and conversed with a governor [

according to the Dikdukei Soferim]

in the marketplace, and a spray of saliva flew from his mouth

of the gentile governor

onto the garments of Rabbi Yishmael,

rendering him impure.

And Yosef, his brother, entered

of Rabbi Yishmael,

and served in his place [

in his stead] as High Priest.

And

Kamhit

saw the fortune of two High Priests

among her sons

on a single day.

The Sages taught: Kamhit had seven sons, and all of them served as High Priests.

The Sages said to her

to Kamhit:

What did you do to merit this?

She said to them

Kamhit:

Never did the beams of my house see the braids of my hair,

at a time when she was able to cover them [the Aramaic translation].

The Sages said to her

to Kamhit:

Many have done so

and were as modest as you,

and it did not help them, [

see note ].

The Sages taught:

Concerning the meal-offering from which the kometz is taken, it is written: “And he shall lift from it”

“with his fist.”

And it should have said: “And he shall lift from it his fist” [Siaḥ Yitzḥak]; to teach you—

That he may not make a measure for the kometz.

He may not make a vessel the size of the fistful of the priest who takes the kometz and take the kometz with it; rather, he must take it with his own fist.

A dilemma was raised before them: What is the law regarding the High Priest making

the High Priest

a measure for the handful

and taking the incense with it?

Perhaps we should say: Only

there,

with regard to the kometz,

he

may not make a measure for the kometz,

as

the verse

states: “And he shall lift from it”

“with his fist”—

handful”—

But here, where it is not written

“and he shall take it with his fists,”

with his fists, but rather

it is written: “And he shall take

a full handful of finely ground incense

and bring it from within the curtain,” and this does not imply that he must take it specifically with his fists; if so,

it does not

matter to us if he makes a measure with which to fill his handful.

Or perhaps: He derives

a gzera shava:

“full” [

“and a full handful”]

“full” from the kometz [

another verse is written: “And he shall take from there a fistful”—“a full” fistful]?

Come and hear

from our Mishna: He took a full handful and placed it into the spoon; the large one according to his largeness, and the small one according to his smallness,

and this was its measure.

What, is that not

what it is saying:

If he wished to make a measure,

he may do so,

and he should make it according to the measure of the priest’s fists: the large one according to his largeness, and the small one according to his smallness.

We have therefore learned that he may make a measure for the handful.

And we reject this:

No.

The words of the Mishna cannot be explained in this manner.

Rather,

this is what it is saying: [

see note (20)]

And this—

in the same manner as it was measured outside by means of his fists—was its measurement [R. Hananel] inside as well. For

he would again take a handful inside.

In the Holy of Holies, he would pour the incense from the spoon into his fists and place the incense on the coals in the censer. He would not pour it from the spoon directly onto the censer [Rashash; see there].

And we challenge this: If so, as you have explained,

you may infer

from our Mishna that

he takes a handful

outside

and again takes a handful inside, and you could resolve from our Mishna the doubt raised about this in the Gemara below, 49a?!

And we answer: Nothing can be inferred. For if you seek to infer that “he takes a handful and again takes a handful,” we say to you:

Perhaps

the Mishna means

that if he wished to make a measure,

he may do so.

And if you seek to infer that one makes a measure for the handful, we say to you: Perhaps the Mishna means that “he takes a handful and again takes a handful.”

Alternatively,

there is another way to reject the inference from what the Mishna says, “And this was its measure,” which would indicate that one makes a measure for the handful. For it may be explained that our Mishna teaches that his handful should be filled precisely [Ritva ],

so that he does not lack

from the fullness of his handful,

and so that he does not add

to it.

The Sages taught

concerning taking the kometz of the meal-offering: It is written: “And he shall take a fistful from there,”

“a full fistful,”

one might have thought

that the kometz should be

heaped,

protruding and extending from every side—

The verse states: “With his fist.”

If the verse says “with his fist,” one might have thought

that the smaller the kometz, the better, and he should take it

even with the tips of his fingers

alone, without filling the entire length of his palm—

The verse states: “A full fistful,”

and this means:

as people take a fistful,

in the manner in which people take a fistful.

How is this done:

He inserts the sides of his fingers and presses into the flour, and the flour enters his hand, and he

covers [

closes]

three of his fingers [

the fingers between the little finger and the thumb]

over

all

of

his palm, and takes the kometz.